


Not So Imaginary

by bellestar



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben and Rey Belong Together, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Drinking, F/M, First Kisses, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Happily ever after is what they deserve, One Shot, Pining, Reylo - Freeform, Soft Ben Solo, That's Not How The Force Bond Works, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Young Ben Solo, Young Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:26:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23616736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellestar/pseuds/bellestar
Summary: Prompt: Ben and Rey have felt the bond since their childhood and have always been able to talk to their "imaginary friend."  When they meet as adults, they realize they know each other.Written for For the Writing Den's Anniversary Fic Exchange 2020!
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 51
Kudos: 338
Collections: Anniversary Fic Exchange 2020, Comfort Gems 2020





	Not So Imaginary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rowerowemyboat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowerowemyboat/gifts).



> I hope I've done this wonderful prompt justice!
> 
> Moodboard commissioned by [@starcrossreylo](https://twitter.com/starcrossreylo)!

He’s three years old when it happens for the first time.

It’s an unusually warm spring day, and an even rarer day that the Organa-Solo family can be together in the backyard. Leia is lounging in a chair with a book in her hands while Han chases after their giggly, dark haired toddler through freshly cut grass. Ben runs with a ball in his hands as his father tells him that he’s going to catch him. The scene paints the perfect picture of an imperfect family. 

The little boy stumbles over his chubby legs as the ball rolls into a nearby flower patch. Strong hands gently lift him from the ground as nimble, but worn, fingers tickle the child’s sides. It makes the little boy cry out with laughter as he looks up into the face of the father he loves so much.

“Got ya, Ben!” Han exclaims as he leans in to bump noses with his son. Ben’s hands reach out and gently slap against his father’s face to mimic him as he enthusiastically rubs his face against his. A gentle kiss is placed on his forehead before being placed back down onto the soft grass. Ben spots the ball again and goes to retrieve it.

His mother watches as her son giggles once more when he captures the plastic, blue ball and hugs it tightly against him. She feels her heart swell at the sight of the happy boy, and how great it feels to hear laughter in her home again. For far too long, there’s been a cloud of darkness that has hung over their home. To have her husband and son both in good spirits gives Leia hope for the future.

She’s about to resume her reading when Ben begins to talk to himself. She’s used to hearing him babble as he plays with his toys or at the dinner table.

“Hi, I’m Ben!” he shouts to no one that she can see. She looks up from the pages of her book and sees him stretch the ball out in front of him. “Wanna play with me?”

Leia chuckles to herself. She’s heard from friends that children at this age often have an imaginary friend. 

“What’s your name?” she hears Ben ask. There’s a pause. “Rey? That’s a neat name. For a girl, I guess. Come on, let’s play!”

She’s not sure where he may have picked up such an odd name, but when Han leans in and kisses her cheek, she decides not to question anything. Moments like this are so few that she wants to hold on to it for as long as she can.

* * *

He’s six years old, and he doesn’t remember a time when Rey wasn’t a part of his life. Ben doesn’t understand why no one else can see her but him, but it doesn’t bother him too much.

Rushing down the stairs of the school bus, Ben runs toward the backyard where he knows she’s likely already waiting for him. He pushes through the gate and heads straight to the newly built swing set that his father made for him. The backpack on his shoulder is tossed into the grass as he goes to sit in a swing. Rey isn’t here yet, but he knows she’s coming.

“Ben!” his mother calls for him as she steps out onto the deck with her hands on her hip. “Aren’t you going to come inside first?”

“I wanna play with Rey first!” he yells back.

Leia shakes her head and waves him off. She’s learned to continue to play along with Ben’s imaginary friend. He gets incredibly defensive any time that Han discourages him from talking about Rey, but Leia still believes it’s harmless.

When the door shuts behind Leia, he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. That’s when he knows Rey is coming. It’s like the world melts away, and it’s just her and him. Ben turns his head and sees his best friend sitting on the swing beside him.

“Hi Rey!” he says brightly. She looks up at him with a small smile as her hands wrap around the chain of the swing.

“Hi Ben,” she says sadly. Rey turns herself in the swing to face him. Her usually bright hazel eyes are red and swollen, like she’s been crying.

“Rey? Are you okay?” he asks softly. She ducks her head as some of her hair falls gently across her face. Rey is wearing her usual three buns in her hair, something she has been doing for a long while.

“I don’t know where my mom and dad are,” she admits as her lip begins to tremble and a tear slides down her cheek. Ben looks at her, confused.

“You…you don’t know where they are? What do you mean?”

“I think they left me,” her voice breaks as she hides her face into her hands. “I…I stay with Unkar Plutt and….and he told me they aren’t coming back.”

“Rey…oh, wow,” Ben breathes out as she begins to cry harder in the swing. “I’m sorry, Rey. I don’t think that’s true. They will come back.”

“You don’t know that!” she exclaims as she pulls her hands from her face. Her cheeks are red and covered in tears. Ben feels a sharp pain in his chest. He doesn’t know what to say or do, but he doesn’t like to see her this way.

“They…love you, Rey. They just wouldn’t leave you,” he tells her.

She continues to cry. “I just feel so sad,” she hiccups. “Was it something I did?”

“No, I am sure it wasn’t something you did. Maybe they have to take care of some grown up stuff first.” Ben tentatively reaches out and puts his hand on her shoulder. “Rey, please don’t be sad.” He suddenly remembers his mom telling him how much she loves it when he gives her a hug when she’s feeling sad. Maybe that will work for Rey, too.

“I…I can give you a hug and see if that helps,” he says quietly. Before he knows it, Rey launches herself into his arms and he tumbles backward off the swing. He lands on the ground with Rey still wrapped around him as he moves to sit up and wrap his arms around her back. His nose rubs against her hair and he can faintly smell strawberries. 

He doesn’t know what Armie at school is talking about with girls having cooties. Ben doesn’t like that Rey is upset, but he likes giving her a hug.

She sniffles and rubs her face against his shoulder. When she pulls back, she wipes her nose with the back of her hand and takes a deep breath. Ben pats her on the arm, just like his dad does when he’s upset about something.

“Thank you, Ben,” she whispers. “You are a good friend.”

He feels his heart leap at that. Ben is glad that it seems like his hug helped Rey to feel better.

“Ben! Honey, come inside for a snack!” Leia’s voice rings out. Rey moves away from Ben and helps him to his feet. Ben looks between the backdoor and to Rey.

“My mom makes some really good pizza bites. Do you want some?”

Rey nods her head. “Could I?”

“Yeah, come on!”

Leia opens the back door as her sweet boy dashes into the kitchen. He goes over to the counter, standing on tip-toe to look at the plate of freshly made pizza bites waiting for him.

“Hey, Mom? Can Rey have some pizza bites?” he asks.

Leia chuckles as she reaches for a second plate. She’s used to sometimes making a plate of food or sharing something with Rey. Leia splits the pizza bites between the two plates, knowing she or Han will have to eat ‘Rey’s’ uneaten portion when they clean up later. She bends down, handing both plates to Ben.

“Thanks, Mom!” Ben smiles when Leia runs her fingers through his wavy, raven hair. His hair is long, but it covers up his ears that Ben says makes him look like an alien from outer space. Han has apologized to Ben for inheriting Solo ears as he calls them, but Leia thinks it makes her son even more cute.

He balances the plates in his hands as he tells an invisible Rey they can watch cartoons before he has to get ready for dinner. 

Leia decides to pretend that she didn’t see the wet spot on his shoulder. It almost looks like someone wiped their tears on his shirt.

* * *

He is ten years old today, and he thinks it’s the worst day ever.

Ben stomps up the stairs to his room, ignoring his mother’s pleas to please come back downstairs for some cake. He slams the door to his room and throws himself onto his bed, tears streaming down his face.

His mom and dad have thrown him a birthday party like he asked for. They’ve decorated the back yard with balloons and streamers in the rocket ship theme that he wanted. There’s so much pizza and ice cream on the table that Ben thinks they have enough to eat for years. His best friend, Armie, and more of his classmates all came over to celebrate by playing games in the yard.

The only thing missing is Rey.

Ben hasn’t seen her for a couple of weeks, but he told his mom that he wanted her to make sure Rey was invited to his party. He was excited to introduce Rey to his friends since she doesn’t go to his school. Ben isn’t sure where Rey goes to school or why she only comes over during certain times, but she is his oldest friend. It wouldn’t be right to celebrate this milestone birthday without her.

Except his mom didn’t invite Rey. When he asked her why not, his mother had told him that Rey wasn’t a real person.

Ben knows that’s not true; Rey is real, and she is the one friend he can always count on. He also knows she would have been excited by the rocket ship themed birthday party too, since they like many of the same things.

When his mom reminded him again that Rey isn’t a real person, Ben lost it. He threw down one of his gifts and took off upstairs. He doesn’t care about the double chocolate birthday cake, not if Rey can’t be there to enjoy it, too.

He cries softly into his pillow. He’s tired of explaining to Armie and to his classmates who Rey is and why no one has ever met her before. Armie thinks she’s made up, too. He sneered at Ben one day when he said that she was an imaginary girlfriend. Ben had made a face; Rey isn’t his girlfriend. She is a friend who is also a girl.

Ben feels his tears subsiding and the sounds of his friends laughing downstairs in the backyard. He sits up in the bed, wiping away the tears when he feels the world around him begin to slow down. His heartbeat quickens and he can’t stop from smiling. Rey is coming.

When he turns, he sees her sitting in his chair at his desk. Rey is wearing a green sundress and her hair is down. Ben thinks she looks pretty as she smiles at him. He doesn’t typically think about that with other girls, but Rey is his friend.

“Happy birthday, Ben!” she chirps and walks over to sit next to him on the bed. Ben sniffles and pushes his hair from his face, careful not to tuck it behind his ears. He hates his ears.

“Thanks, Rey,” he says shyly. He looks down at his clasped hands in his lap. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

“I’m sorry that I was late. I had some trouble getting here.” Rey looks over him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

He looks up at her. “Oh, nothing. It’s fine now.”

Rey shakes her head at him. “Ben, you promised me you wouldn’t lie to me, remember?” She holds out her pinky finger just like she when they made that promise to one another.

He curls his pinkie around hers and squeezes it. “Okay. I’m mad at my mom. She told me she doesn’t believe that you’re real when I asked her to invite you to my birthday party.”

Rey frowns at him. “Ben, I’m so sorry that I just now made it to your party. Don’t blame your mom, though.” She drops her head and pretends to be smoothing out the wrinkles in the dress. “No one believes me either when I talk about you, either.”

Ben nods his head. They’ve talked about this before. No one in their lives believes that the other exists. This usually doesn’t bother Ben, but it hurts more today since it’s his birthday.

“I don’t understand how this works,” Ben says. “I can see you, hear you…I know when you’re coming.”

“Me too. I feel you before I see you. It’s like everything else fades away when you show up,” Rey admits to him when she lifts her head back up to his. “I don’t care what Rose or anyone else says. I know you’re real to me, Ben.”

He gives her a small smile, feeling comforted knowing that he’ll always have Rey to believe in him. “You’re real to me, too, Rey. You’re my best friend.”

“I thought that redheaded kid, Armie, was your best friend?” she teases. He shakes his head.

“Nah, you are,” his smile widens when she returns it with a grin. “You should come downstairs and have some cake. Mom does make a great chocolate cake.”

Rey peers out the window behind them. “Is that…a rocket ship in the backyard?”

“Yeah, my uncle Luke said we can fire it into space later tonight!” Excitement fills his voice as he hops from the bed and darts for the door. “Come on, Rey! Let’s go check it out!”

When they both reach the bottom of the stairs, Ben is happy to see his mom have two plates of cake: one for him and one for Rey.

* * *

He is seventeen years old, and Ben feels a little bit like a loser.

Ben’s desk is covered in calligraphy sheets and ink stains on his hands. It’s just another normal Saturday night for him; Hux had invited him out to Jessika Pava’s party earlier, but he’s not feeling like socializing. Ben has been spending more time reading from his Uncle Luke’s library and trying to avoid helping his dad with fixing up the Falcon downstairs. 

His mom tried to ask him at dinner if he wanted to go out with his friends, reminding him that he’s only young once. Ben appreciates that his mother tries to encourage him, but he’s not interested in getting hammered or getting caught by the cops. His dad asks at least once a week if there’s a special girl he’d like to take on a date. Ben always answers no. He knows there are girls who are interested in him. Gwen Phasma has been flirting with him in physics class, but Ben isn’t interested. She’s not his type.

Ben pauses as he looks over his calligraphy practice, something that his Uncle Luke suggested that he give a try. It’s better than trying to understand all of the tools in his dad’s garage.

He grabs the remote for his stereo, hitting shuffle on the playlist. He’s been into Dashboard Confessional lately, and the soothing sounds of guitars and vocals flow out of the speakers.

Ben grabs some additional sheets to continue his practice when he feels a familiar shiver down his neck. He hasn’t experienced this in a long time; he almost thought maybe this wouldn’t happen anymore.

When he turns around in his chair, Rey has her back to him as she sits on his bed. She’s wearing her hair in the same three small buns like she did when they were kids. His eyes take in the simple tank top and jeans, and he feels a little weird in his jeans and t-shirt. He’s not sure why. Ben cards a hand through his hair. The shorter length barely covers his ears anymore.

“Rey,” he says softly, and when she turns to face him, his heart breaks at the sight of tears streaming down her cheeks. It reminds him when she first told him about how her parents abandoned her when they were six years old. He realizes that Rey has been coming to him like this for almost 15 years.

“Oh, hi, Ben,” she clears her throat and smooths some of the hair from her face. He gets up from his desk and walks to the side of the bed. He thinks it’s been months since he last saw her. As they have gotten older, Rey and Ben have seen less of each other. He doesn’t want to admit that he’s missed her.

“Uh, hey, it’s…it’s nice to see you.” He sits down beside her and chides himself. Why is he saying stupid things? _Nice to see you?_ He’s known Rey almost his entire life.

She sniffles as she tries to smile at him. “Wow, you cut your hair.”

His hands immediately reach up to touch his hair, and he wishes he hadn’t let Hux talk him into cutting his hair now. “Yeah, it was getting hard to uh…wash and all that.” He shakes his head again for saying yet another stupid thing to Rey.

“How are you? Are you doing okay?” he asks as she shifts on the bed to pull her legs under her. Rey wipes at her eyes and keeps her gaze away from him.

“Um, I got dumped tonight…so, I guess I could be doing better.”

Ben frowns deeply and feels a pang of jealousy to think Rey has…had a boyfriend.

“I’m sorry that happened. He’s a real idiot to break up with you,” he offers. Rey laughs softly as she keeps her head down.

“It’s fine,” she says dismissively. “Poe is a nice guy, but he just didn’t feel like the right one.” 

Ben nods his head, pretending that he knows what she’s talking about. “Well, what is that phrase? There’s more fish in the sea?” His voice croaks and he squeezes his eyes shut. His voice has deepened, just as much as he’s grown taller than his father, and it’s awkward to hear how he sounds when he’s talking.

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know,” she sighs and finally looks up at him. Ben catches her familiar warm, hazel eyes in the dim lighting from his desk lamp. He’s never noticed just how many freckles cover her face, and how easy it is to get lost in them.

“Just who breaks up with someone because they’re not ready for kissing yet, anyway?”

Ben’s eyes widen at the admission. “Um, you didn’t want to kiss your boyfriend?”

Rey shrugs her shoulders as she pulls her knees up into her chest. She wraps her arms around herself and looks over to Ben. “Poe just doesn’t seem like the right guy.”

“But…you were dating? I’m…I’m a little confused.”

“Yeah, we would go hang out together after school and he’s taken me to the movies a couple of times. He would leave notes at my locker sometimes.” 

As Rey rambles, Ben finds himself becoming more envious of this Poe guy. He doesn’t sound like anyone who goes to his high school. Then again, Rey doesn’t go to school with him, either. To this day, no one believes him that Rey has ever existed when he mentions her.

“I just want my first kiss to mean something to someone, you know?” She sighs. “And I just don’t think it would have meant anything with Poe Dameron. That’s it.”

Ben hums to himself. He’s never kissed anyone either, nor has he dated anyone. He doesn’t count that time that Hux tried to set him up with Bazine from French class. That was a disaster.

“Well, it sounds like you’re better off without him. I’m sorry he did that to you, Rey.” He leans over to put a hand on her knee, and he realizes his fingers graze her hand. A jolt of electricity flows through him at the brief contact.

He glances up at her as she wets her lips. The music of Dashboard Confessional has faded away when he looks up into her face. Goosebumps begin to prickle his skin and his breath catches when she smiles at him.

“It’s okay,” she reassures him as she releases her knees and she leans over to him. He faintly catches the smell of her perfume. Her hand reaches over to his, and their fingers dance before Rey intertwines her fingers with his.

Before Ben realizes what is happening, Rey closes the gap between them as she presses her lips to his. The world has completely evaporated around them when he tastes the sweetness of cherry Chapstick and another flavor that is uniquely her. Her other hand reaches up to cup his cheek, and Ben moans when he feels her tongue at the seam of his lips.

They kiss gently for what could be seconds or hours as Ben loses himself completely in the feel of the girl that he feels exists for him and him only. He regrets the loss of contact when he pulls back from her to catch his breath. When she smiles at him, Ben feels like he’s in heaven.

“There,” she says gleefully and with a giggle. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for.”

“You…you’ve been waiting to kiss me?” he asks incredulously.

“I’ve been waiting to have my first kiss with someone real,” she says softly. “Even if no one sees you but me. You’re real to me, Ben.”

Emboldened by her confession, Ben leans in, capturing her lips with his once again. His heart swells at the feel of her in his arms as they kiss slowly and sweetly. It’s a little while later after Rey has disappeared that the music in his room becomes a little louder.

 _“Do you, do you like dreaming of things so impossible?  
_ _Or only the practical?  
_ _Or ever the wild?  
_ _Or waiting through all your bad, bad days  
_ _Just to end them with someone you care about?  
_ _And do you like making out?  
_ _And long drives?  
_ _And brown eyes?  
_ _And guys that just don't quite fit in?  
_ _Do you like them?  
_ _So, yes I'll see you there."_

* * *

He’s twenty-one years old, and Ben Solo is drunk.

Hux talked him into coming out to the party that this weird fraternity is having tonight. Ben has never seen so many people crammed in a small house, and he knows he sticks out because of his size. He’s no longer the skinny, scrawny kid in high school thanks to his new interest in working out and running the track at the university football field. He’s as tall and broad as a tree as he weaves his way through the house.

He stumbles over himself as he tries not to spill the remaining beer in his red Solo cup. He’s lost count of how many beers he’s had…maybe 6…maybe 8? He and Hux did kick ass at beer pong earlier, and that counts for something.

Ben’s also lost count of the number of girls who have walked up to him, their fingers raking through his raven locks. His hair is longer and curls around his face. Hux has been giving him shit for trying to grow out a goatee that he muses he’ll shave soon.

The girls, though. There’s been a lot of hot, some barely dressed, girls who have thrown themselves at him tonight. His dad would be proud if he could see him now. His mom would wave it off as part of the Solo charm.

But none of them compare to Rey.

There’s been some cute brunettes who have definitely looked over their shoulders at him as he’s walked past them. Their faces lack the freckles that he wishes to see when he looks at them. Their smiles are not nearly as bright as when she smiles at him. 

_It’s crazy,_ he tells himself as he gulps the rest of his beer. He’s not seen Rey since leaving for college. He’s not sure where she is right now, but she’s likely not thinking about him in a drunken stupor like he is. Hell, he’s not even sure if Rey is real anymore. 

Tired of looking for Hux, he stumbles down the front steps of the frat house, his eyes adjusting to the late evening. The sound of rattling beer cans and cups being crushed under footsteps fill his ears as he tries to focus on which way home is. He’s not far from his apartment; he can make it home and gulp down some water before passing out.

Ben is sure it’s the amount of beer he’s had tonight, but he hears a laugh that he’s not heard in…he doesn’t remember how long. Fuck, why must he be so drunk right now?

He narrows his eyes as he sees a girl with brown hair laugh loudly with another girl. That laugh is so familiar. It’s so warm and it feels…like home. Like the home he’s been searching for all his life.

As he tells his feet to walk a little faster in her direction, his drunk brain tells him what his heart wants to hear.

It’s…Rey. It has to be.

And she’s actually standing beside someone.

Which means.

She’s real. Right?

He tries to call out her name, but he smacks face first into the grass instead.

She’s not there when he wakes up later, somehow on the floor of his apartment.

Ben goes back to assuming that he’s dreamed up the only person that he wishes were real.

* * *

He’s twenty-six years old when it happens.

Ben Solo continues to stick out in a crowd as he makes his morning commute down the busy sidewalk. He’s traded his jeans and shirts for tailored suits and leather shoes. His dad likes to give him shit for looking too out-of-place, but his mom compliments how handsome he is. He shrugs off their comments when he goes home, which isn’t too often these days with his work schedule.

City life has grown on him since graduating college. Hux moved close by not too long ago, and he’s amazed by how close he remains to his childhood friend. Hux is one of the few constants that remain from growing up, and while he’s a pain in the ass sometimes, his friendship is something he can count on.

Hux has been trying to set him up on dates again, but Ben isn’t interested. He’s running out of excuses, so he knows he can’t hide from dating forever. He just can’t bring himself to date a woman who doesn’t meet the impossible standards that he knows he has.

As he waits at a crosswalk, Ben glances around him as people around him go about their lives. For all of his accomplishments at work and where he is currently in life, he can’t help but feel like he’s remaining rooted in a single spot. That he’s constantly waiting. Waiting for the moment when the hairs on his neck to stand up and for the world fades away.

It feels like that in a way when he spots her in a bright, yellow dress. She’s crossing the street in front of him, her smile just as bright as he remembers it. Her hair bounces in waves around her face as she walks. Ben has forgotten his name and how to breathe when she comes closer. She’s not yet noticed him, even as he stands dumbly on the street corner.

He waits for the familiar wave of silence to envelop him like it happens every time she appears. The hairs on his neck stand up, but there’s also the flooding of warmth that he felt when she first kissed him when he was in high school. Bright hazel eyes lock with his, just as they did when he was turning ten years old. 

“Rey!” he finally remembers how to speak, and she’s standing directly in front of him. Her eyes are wide with wonder as her lips part.

“Ben!” she shouts, and just like she did on the swing set when they were six years old, she launches herself into his arms. He nearly tumbles back as her arms wrap around his neck. His hands run through her hair and down her arms when she’s placed back on the ground. They stare at one another in disbelief, their hands grabbing one another’s arms and shoulders in reassuring themselves that it’s not a dream.

She’s just as beautiful and carefree as the night he thought he saw her at the frat party. Hundreds of days they spent together in the backyard playing race through his mind as the girl that no one believed to exist is here on this busy sidewalk.

People bump into them. Some make snarky comments about needing to get a room or to get the hell out of the way, but Ben doesn’t care who can see him with Rey as he kisses her passionately and holds her close to him.

* * *

“I can’t believe that we’re really here together like this,” she murmurs against his bare chest as he wraps his arms around her. They lie naked in a tangle of sheets and limbs, their faces flushed and their hearts pounding wildly after their lovemaking. 

There is a pause as he presses a kiss to her temple and her hand grips his hip.

“For so long, I wondered if I just dreamed you into life,” he says softly into her hair. 

“You’ve always been the most real thing in my life, even when one believed me. It was like you were always there inside me.” Rey tells him as she looks into his eyes. 

Ben feels his heart swell as he leans in to kiss her forehead and she nuzzles her nose against his throat. She faintly smells of strawberries and sunshine, just like she did when they played together as kids. Rey fits against him so perfectly, like she’s the final missing piece of the puzzle. 

All of those moments when no one believed him have been worth it to have her like this in his arms.

“I love you, Rey,” he finally tells her.

“I love you, too, Ben.”

* * *

He’s twenty-seven years old when he brings Rey back home.

Leia opens the door, and she can hardly contain her excitement as she sees her sweet boy and his girl hand-in-hand. She hasn’t seen this smile from him since that night he came downstairs and walked around the house like he was floating on a cloud. Han had joked maybe their son had finally laid one on a girl that night, even though Leia knew there was no way that Ben had snuck anyone upstairs without her knowing about it.

“Mom? This is Rey,” Ben says proudly.

Leia locks eyes with the invisible girl who she spent years pretending to feed and talk to when Ben insisted. She’ll get to remind Han later that Ben wasn’t completely crazy for always talking about the one person who he felt understood him better than anyone.

She’s so glad to finally meet Ben’s not-so-imaginary fiancé. 

“It’s so good to finally meet you, Rey,” she says with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading!
> 
> Special love and thank you to [Sophia_Ravencrest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophia_Ravencrest/pseuds/Sophia_Ravencrest), who betaed this for me and generally cheers everything I write.


End file.
